Why is exercise important, according to the science?

Why is exercise important? On the face of it, this may seem like a fairly simple question – schooling systems across the world tell us exercise is a great way to stay fit and healthy. But what are the actual physiological benefits of raising your heart rate, and why are they so important to the human function?

Firstly, it’s important to understand what exercise is. For many, the phrase will trigger mental images of a session on the one of the best treadmills, a HIIT bike workout, or a trip to the gym, and this isn’t far wrong. A 1985 Public Health Report seeking to pin down the term settled on a definition of, “planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement done to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness”. 

So, whether you’re tracking your sets and reps while  for  with the best adjustable dumbbells, or setting out on a 10K with the aim of burning calories, you’re taking part in exercise. 

“This list is almost endless,” Liam Walton, validation lead at sports engineering company INCUS Performance, told Live Science. However, with qualifications in Sports Biomechanics, Applied Sport and Exercise Science, as well as years working in the fitness industry, he is better placed than most to provide an answer.

Below, he explains some of the key reasons why exercise is so important and beneficial to human function, including the positive impact participation can have on positive longevity, proprioception and the reduced risk of lifestyle-related diseases. 

“One of the most important benefits of exercise is reducing the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes or heart disease,” Walton says.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, with one person dying every 36 seconds from cardiovascular disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Walton continues: “Daily exercise has been scientifically proven (in a 2019 study published in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity)  to reduce the risk of heart disease, with 30 minutes of moderate exercise completed five times a week being enough to make a difference.”

Hearing that exercise can be beneficial to heart health may be nothing new to you. But why exactly does it have such a positive impact?

“The heart is a muscle, and like all muscles it needs regular stimulation to stay strong and healthy,” Walton says. “Without regular exercise, fatty material builds up in the arteries which increases your risk of suffering from a heart attack.”

A 2018 study published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine stated that “endurance training is associated with elevated levels of circulating high density lipoprotein (HDL) and, to a lesser extent, a reduction in triglyceride levels - both changes that can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease”.

It later adds: “Physical activity can ameliorate a variety of cardiovascular disease risk factors such as dyslipidemia (the imbalance of lipids) or hypertension (high blood pressure).”

In essence, what we mean by the term “positive longevity” is exercising in the present to ensure you remain healthy and functional in the future.

“It may be difficult for younger people to imagine being elderly and a lot of people just workout for aesthetics, but exercise should be thought of as a long-term investment,” he says. “Being healthy and active now will prevent conditions such as osteoporosis (a health condition that weakens the bones, making them more likely to break) later in life, which can have a huge impact on mobility and quality of life when we’re older.”

Practicing positive longevity involves looking after your organs, muscles and joints. And what is one of the key ways of achieving this? You guessed it: exercise. 

livescience